Unbreakable
by DarkKnights
Summary: After an attack that threatens to dismantle relations between the Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu, Kuai Liang decides to confront the situation. However, what he is about to take part might be the biggest turmoil he would have to face...
1. Chapter 1

**Something I came up with at some point. I wanted to explore how Sub-Zero deals with the loss of his comrades and his broken relationship with Bi Han/Noob Saibot. So I wanted to simply explore and break down Kuai Liang's personality and what goes on under his stoic and composed personality. Lastly, this might be only 3-4 chapters long, so its a short story. Also, this takes place after MK11. Hope you enjoy.**

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_**Chapter 1**_

Two fists collided. They emitted a crackling voice from the shock of impact. Two warriors in blue garbs stared at one another fiercely, eyes twitching and grunts of struggle correlating with one another. Suddenly, a second fist came from one of the fighters. The other kombatant quickly adjusted is opposite arm's elbow, taking a shot and further putting resistance.

Another figure, in a brighter blue attire stood in the background of a temple atop a snowy mountain, overlooking the fight. A scar ran vertically across his right eye. His appearance was stern and intimidating; tall, cold-blue eyes and sporting a well-groomed beard. He also emitted a misty aura around him, an ethereal feeling came from him.

Kuai Liang, Sub-Zero, Grandmaster of the Lin-Kuei bore witness to his clan member's daily fighting, to keep them sharpened and strong. As one of Earthrealm's greatest defenders and the greatest figure in the arts of Cryomancy, he was dedicated to keeping himself on tabs with worldly events and the management of his clan.

The fighters continued to struggle against another, until one of them lifted his foot and lunged it onto his opponent's torso, who reeled back, clutching it immediately after. The first opponent then ran towards the second opponent, arching his right arm for an open attack. The second opponent quickly shuffled his hands away from his torso and shot his right hand towards the floor. A giant azure suddenly rose from the ground, spiking upwards to a decent height. The first fighter immediately noticed and pressed his left foot against the floor, stopping himself from getting impaled. The icicle burst soon after, revealing the second fighter crying out loud before immediately shooting his palms forward, projecting a blue sphere. The first fighter was caught by surprise, unable to anticipate his opponent's move. The sphere made contact, causing the fighter to grunt loudly and jerk rapidly before being encased in frigid ice.

The second fighter darted in a flash, thrusting his left fist onto his opponent's jaw. The ice thawed, followed by the screams of the first fighter flying onto the floor with a loud thud. He cried out from the impact of the shot, trying to stand up. The second fighter approached him, looking directly below. The first fighter sighed, before listing his left hand and grabbing his opponent's right, lifting himself up.

Kuai Liang began to walk towards the two, giving them an individual glare. He then stopped to confront the losing fighter.

"You have fought well Wang Shu. But you still need tempering. As a defender of Earthrealm, you cannot let yourself down, not even by those stronger", he commended. Wang peered at his grandmaster's comment. He made no comment about it, but still took it as a sign of betterment. He then lowered his sight, waiting for his master's words towards his opponent.

Kuai then turned to face the winning fighter. "You are improving, Qing Shan. A great promise from your adversity and skill. However, one must know the cost of battle and its purpose. Therefore, are you certain about what you have learned from Wang?" he asked.

"Yes. I am still fighting to learn and better myself. To become better is to also understand your opponent and our intentions" Qing replied.

Kuai glared firmly at his Qing. "You must also know when to be understanding and compassioning towards one. You will face those with well-intentioned goals, but also those who only seek for themselves or for malevolence" he added.

Qing clenched his fist and hand tightly. "Yes grandmaster" he answered.

Kuai Liang walked backwards for a few steps. Upon stopping, he folded his arms and gazed at his disciples.

"Now bow before one another! Your training is done" Kuai declared, followed by Wang Shu and Qing Shan clapping their fists against one another and nodding at each other. The two then looked at Kuai, eyes lowered and directed towards him in respect. The grandmaster then turned to trot towards a nearby temple, the two fighters looking on.

"Good fight" said Wang with some enthusiasm.

"You too. We still have much to practice" Qing commented plainly.

Kuai approached an opening at the end of a hallway inside the temple. He set foot on a small room, filled with medallions, symbols and portraits relating to the Lin Kuei and their history. He sat on a wooden chair and gazed at some of the images of historical Lin Kuei warriors. He took note of two in particular; one showcasing someone of African descent clad in yellow and another with silver hair and dressed in grey. Kuai clenched his fists tightly, not out of anger, but one of strong emotion regardless.

Kuai looked at the portrait of the African Lin Kuei member, his face mellowing to a sullen feel. "Cyrax. There was still many for you to learn. You were one of loyalty, but also of dignity and honour. Had it not for the Cyber Initiative, you would be side-by-side, mentoring, defending, preserving what the Lin Kuei stood for" he murmured with a sense of reflection. He kept his icy demeanour, though his words suggested a sense of melancholy.

He then tilted his head towards the picture the silver-haired warrior. Kuai felt his fingers tighten strongly; he was feeling uncomfortable with looking at the portrait. "Smoke. I am doing my best to maintain the Lin Kuei. I wish to expel the curse within you, but times have not been too kind. I will bring you back, for I must share company, my friend" Kuai wondered. He still maintained his cold, authoritative tone and demeanour.

Kuai sat for a few minutes before arching himself up. He turned to look at two more images; one showing a masked female ninja clad in an azure suit and icy blue hair. The second image was of a masked man in an attire not too different from Kuai. In fact, the two looked quite similar. However, the last two images presented a different sort of strong feelings towards Kuai. There was still sadness looming in his mind, but something else overwhelmed his overall feelings.

Anger. Anguish. Disappointment. Broken aspirations.

Kuai Liang's right hand began to conjure a white wisp of energy, before ice suddenly materialized it fully, and onto his wrist. Kuai growled lightly, the ice shattering shortly thereafter and his right-hand clenching for a few seconds before the fingers unfurled. He gazed at the images with an icy scowl, unusual for his demeanour.

"I expected better from the two of you…" Kuai lamented in a soft tone. He turned around and walked outside the room, and into the temple corridors again, making his way towards his throne.

Kuai climbed to the top of his stairs before proceeding to sit on his throne. He rested his left elbow and hung his hand onto his head for a few minutes. He sighed with his stoic expression, restraining his emotions and waiting for something to catch his attention.

"Grandmaster!" a voice ran out. Kuai raised his head and dropped his left hand onto the throne chair's arms. A grey-clothed figure emerged walking towards Kuai.

"What has gone on. Has there been an attack?" Kuai asked in swift response.

The messenger gulped. "Yes. The troops we send to Japan to pay respect to Hanzo and the Shirai-Ryu…" he began.

"What had transpired" Kuai continued inquiring.

"Only six of them returned. They said the remaining were slaughtered, along with some on the Shirai Ryu!" the messenger responded with a sense of panic.

Kuai's expression went to composed anger upon hearing. He clapped his palms onto his seat's arms and rose up. "And who carried out the act?" he questioned with a rasp.

The messenger lowered his head. "From what we heard, it looked to be someone in black. Pale white eyes…" he answered.

Kuai's hands began to emit the white aura, slowly having his hands encased in ice. He then shattered them by twitching his hands and walked ahead, his face keeping an indifferent tone. In his mind, what occurred was shock and anger. What the messenger said reminded Kuai of someone…

Bi Han, his older brother.

"And I presume he is doing this to ruin our relationship with the Shirai Ryu. How is Hanzo dealing with this?" Kuai asked again.

"I don't have word from Hanzo… And neither do our surviving troops. I'm sorry…" the messenger responded with a solemn tone.

Kuai Liang passed through the messenger, making his way outside the temple. "Do not feel sorry. No one is to blame for this. I shall take business from here" he responded towards the messenger as he left.

As he left, Kuai equipped himself with a blue mask and an armoured variant of his attire. He then stepped onto the snows of the mountainous terrain where the Lin Kuei temple stood.

Kuai felt the presence of a few numbers of Lin Kuei warriors, the six surviving troops, Wang Shu and Qing Shan among them.

"All of you, take hold of the temple and don't leave" Kuai asserted.

"We will not let our grandmaster fall. We want to accompany you" Wang Shu asked.

Kuai stared coldly at his fellow disciples. "No! You have no idea what you're dealing with. You are staying here, under the grandmaster's orders. And you must survive to ensure the survival of our clan" he announced in a strict, authoritative tone.

The Lin Kuei warriors frowned at their grandmaster's orders, but still stood back and relented. "We understand" Qing Shan replied.

"I've heard that the black figure is making his way towards the temple. He seems to have followed our surviving troops" one of the clan members announced. The troops then nodded down in silent panic.

Kuai grimaced at the last sentence. "This is my fight. Let him come to me. And should I not come back, please think about who should lead our clan" he declared. He then turned around and walked away in the snowy mists.

The Lin Kuei warriors watched on. To see their leader, walk away to settle matters. To them, Kuai Liang went off to face an opponent who threatened the Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu. However, beyond that, there was something deeper. Personal. An old shame to be confronted against…

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**I want to try and explore Kuai's character in the next chapter, just to give him more depth and emotion. Now, I do think Sub-Zero is a great character in his own right, but keep in mind he never gets the main story spotlight in the Reboot MK timeline, so I thought maybe a climatic fight against Bi Han could really flesh him out.**

**Do leave your thoughts about this chapter. I'll see you later, cheers ;).**


	2. Chapter 2

**So I decided to add some light flashbacks onto Kuai Liang's past. What once should be of fond, nostalgic memories being harsh recollections instead. I also wanted to emphasise on Kuai's emotions, particularly anger and disappointment, but I will add more emotions into him in the future chapter. That said, I do intend on maintaining his stoic demeanour and not stray from the original interpretation of the character.**

**MKDemigodZ-Warrior - We can assume that this takes place at a time where Kronika didn't rewind time severely, or in other words, the best ending of the game. Keep in mind, some antagonists do survive and evil usually persists. Also, I'm going to go with the young Scorpion who made peace with Hasashi and I might try getting him to play a role in this.**

**Sub-Pion - I honestly have the same feeling. Sub-Zero is a complete badass and one of the best fictional cryomancers ever made, but the mainstay games tend to focus either on Raiden, the Cage Family or Liu Kang. So yeah, expanding on his feelings and emotions after his experience in the rebooted timeline games is one of the main reasons I wrote this story. **

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_**Chapter 2**_

Kuai-Liang reminisced for a few moments. He thought about the past as he trekked across the snowy terrain. In his mind, were two warriors in blue grazing their fists against one another, the sound of ice forming and shattering, grunts and shouts of struggle and pain echoing in his head. "That was great, brother!" he heard a phrase, something said by Kuai when he was a child.

"You're so awesome Bi Han!"

"Can you teach me that?"

"Someday, I wannabe like you Bi Han"

"You are the best brother ever!"

"I will always look up to you Bi Han. You're really inspirational!"

Words continued to echo in Kuai's mind. The compliments his younger brother said about his Bi-Han were something he wanted to look back on with fondness. He wanted to cherish these memories and smile at them.

Those were not good memories anymore.

The thoughts of the compliments had Kuai narrow his eyes sharply and clench his fists tightly. He was sad. He was angry. He was disappointed. Thinking about Bi-Han was a painful moment. It felt like a sin. Something he could never forget about.

"We share blood. But we are not brothers"

The voice of Bi Han, Noob Saibot, rang in Kuai mind. The very moment that changed Kuai-Liang. The worst part about it; he was right. Bi-Han has no allegiance to his brother, even if they were biologically related. And he had no true loyalty to the Lin Kuei after his death.

Melancholy drenched Kuai's mind. It wasn't the first time either, but it always flashed at some point. He has gotten accustomed to the thought of Bi Han and his shattered expectations, but it wasn't one that would be forgotten. And Kuai knew he can never forget about it.

Kuai continued to walk, his breathing having gotten deeper and tense. He maintained his vision and direction, the icy environment seeming to rather temper him. Kuai then halted his trek, suddenly jerking his head clockwise and back.

He suddenly heard a noise from his right. A black-robed figure suddenly emerged from the winds, carrying a sword. He yelled as he swung his blade. Kuai immediately turned to his direction, suddenly grabbing the man's wrist carrying the sword and clenching it tightly. The man gasped as his attack suddenly stopped. The robed figure then felt a sudden sensation in his chest, something flowing through his body.

Blood trickled from his clothes. He looked to his torso. Kuai had punched him hard, leaving a gaping hole. Kuai jerked his bloody hand off his opponent's chest. The figure mumbled for a second, then dropping to the snowy terrain, not moving after.

Kuai took heed at a symbol at the back of the robed figure's hood; a purple, upper-torso shaped mark, with a head on top.

The Brotherhood of Shadow. It was an assassin of the brotherhood.

Kuai Liang growled softly. He then swerved his head around again, trying to mark out any assassins around the environment. He then thought about the Lin Kuei temple. He thought for a moment. Maybe Bi-Han was already there.

"Damn it!" Kuai thought in his mind. He turned backwards quickly and lunged. He ran as fast as he could to the temple worried about what he thought was transpiring.

A black portal suddenly blasted ahead of him. Kuai immediately broke his running as soon as he noticed. A shadowy figure surfaced from the portal, walking menacingly towards Kuai, grinning lowly. He held a yellow-clad figure by his best on the shadow figure's left hand, the person had his hands clenched around the shadow man's wrist, trying to free himself. The portal soon shrunk and vanished from view. The dark figure then narrowed his view on Kuai Liang, who returned his reaction back with a fierce scowl.

"Did you miss me, my little brother?", the shadowy man asked, with a nonchalant tone.

Kuai clenched his right hand, ice materializing up to his elbows. "Its something I wish I could consider, Bi Han" he replied bluntly.

Bi Han chuckled with a low, raspy tone. "It is a shame really. I could show a lot of promise to the Lin Kuei, but it seems you digress" he commented.

Kuai twitched his right hand's fingers, shattering the encasing ice. "Let the man go. This has got nothing to do with us", he asserted.

"If you so wish…" Bi Han answered. He shuffled his left hand and released his grip. The yellow-dressed man felt his release and wobbled backwards. He turned to look at Kuai Liang before walking towards him.

Suddenly, a pitch-black arm broke out of the floor, grabbing the yellow-clad figure on the knees. The figure gasped in shock and screamed, wriggling violently to escape. The arm then swung the screaming person onto the ground and vanishing without a trace.

Kuai Liang's glare sharpened. "This has nothing to do with the Shirai Ryu" he declared with a stoic, but angry tone.

Bi Han scoffed and chuckled haughtily. "The fact that you're sympathising with them makes me amused" he retorted.

A dark portal showed up, obstructing Bi Han. The yellow-dressed man was suddenly thrown back on the floor. His nose was ripped out, as was much of his upper jaw. Bits of the brain seeped out of his cranium, his clothes were torn, and his skin was covered in gashes and fresh blood, with a few bones jutting out. The man's eyes were frozen in place. Another shadowy figure emerged from the portal before it dematerialized, Saibot.

"I told you to let the Shirai Ryu clansman go" Kuai growled in calm fury, ice materializing from the floor nearby.

Bi Han glinted his eyes with a small laugh. "That I did, my little brother" he replied.

Bi Han then thrusted his right hand onto his chest. Impaling himself, he then jerked the hand off, pulling out a black curved sickle. Saibot knelt for a second before jumping back behind Bi Han.

"You are a fucking bastard" he muttered with a tint of aggression, swinging his sickle.

Kuai Liang scoffed at his brother's insult. "And you are a disgrace to the Lin Kuei's honour" he verbally retaliated, creating a sword of ice and clenching it on his own right hand.

Bi Han sighed with a sense of annoyance. "Honour is meaningless. Family and relations are worthless. All that matters is being one of reverence" he declared.

Bi Han suddenly darted, Saibot remaining idle.

Kuai Liang scowled. The ice near his knees suddenly burst as soon as the Lin Kuei Grandmaster dashed.

The two brothers-archenemies roared loudly towards one another, clashing their sword and sickle against one another…

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**The fight between Kuai Liang and Bi Han will be a really tough one for myself to write. I have written a lot of fights before, but never one like this. In an additional note, I want to focus on Kuai's emotions as well, in an attempt to give the fight more weight and intensity.**

**I'll try my best to feature different characters, despite this story being rather short as I have planned. In addition, if I get lucky enough, I might try writing more MK stories in the future.**

**Do leave your thoughts. Thanks for reading and we'll hopefully talk soon. Cheers ;).**


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